A burly woman carrying a certain someone. . .

[*kitteninablender]

Rith observes the contract, taking a pen in hand. Rather than dip it in the ink, he chuckles, before jamming the tip of it into his own finger, signing his name in blood, complete with a caricature of a smiley face wearing a top hat.

"If one is going to sign a deal with the Devil....ink shall not suffice."

He chuckles, suckling upon the wound on his finger as he hands Mathias back the signed paperwork.

[*RedMoney]

*Mathias raises a brow* "Well... glad to see you're so enthusiastic about this."

*He gathers together a few official witnesses, including at least on Guvner and one Mercykiller, and leads Rith to the Zone of Truth (standing outside of its influence himself) and asks the agreed upon question.

"Are you in any way responsible for the bombing in question or subsequent death of the two children, and if so, how?"

[*kitteninablender]

"I have never, and will never, murder a child. I have done many things, I've done many bad things in my life, but I will never harm a child. EVER. I have standards. So no. I have never, and will never kill a child, and I was in no way responsible for the bombings in the city of Sigil that lead to the death of two children."

[*kitteninablender]

(( What the hell, I'm going with it. ))

Rith would be forced back to life, his willpower unable to stave off the Resurrection magic of the powerful Harmonium Priests. He would likely be stripped of all of his clothes, and searched quite thoroughly for lockpicks, shivs, and any other items that may be hidden on his person, with little to no regard for things such as gender or personal privacy. The mages would lock Rith inside of Cold Iron shackles, the kind that would resist the magic of his shapeshifting, thus he would be unable to Shift out of such. As an added precaution, he might even be put inside of an anti-magic cell. Such a thing wouldn't seem to bother him, not at all. He would face his accusers with a wry smile, his usual chipper, dapper self.

"I know my rights. I will say nothing until I have legal representation in my presence."

That is all he would say.

[*shadowblizmasta]

* She shrugs and lets the Harmonium take the body, not wanting to start anything right in their territory*
"Ye kin 'ave 'im if yer wantin' 'im, don' bother me none."
*Waits a moment, apparently seeing if she is going to get a reward for bringing him in, or not. . .*

[*RedMoney]

*Contrary to the bizarre dream Rith had before he woke up in a medical ward, he is simply taken to a room with a table and two chairs by Mathias. Only his weapons are confiscated, and he can shift if he should like. Mathias looks at him a long moment*

"Feeling better? I'd like to ask you some questions regarding that Bombing... why don't we start with you telling me what you've found in your own little investigation first, and we can go from there."

[*kitteninablender]

"All I know about the bombing, honestly, is that I'm being blamed for it. Somebody mentioned that I have a pension for Fire Bombs. Which is true, I do. The Undead in Nifleheim hate them, and they ignore incorporeality. I also like shrapnel bombs, great for weakening the mobs that gather in the abyss and causing them to scatter.

I enjoy smoke bombs because they provide a great getaway, and sleep bombs because they allow me to put down Mobs with non-lethality, in the event some crazy berks like Jiro or Fargul decide to play Rock'Em Sock'Em Robots by changing into Iron Golems again."

Rith faces Mathias, a look of genuine sadness in his eyes.

"People are calling me a Child Killer Mathias. Now it's true, I work for Hildmor. I am a thief. A Charlatan. A deceiver, a seducer, a panderer, and a hedonist. These things I do not deny. But I have never harmed a child. And I never will. I have spoken to Jaina Wumbo. She's the chemist from whom I purchase my bombs. I buy them in bulk from her, usually when I get to below 20 or so of each. I believe if she can analyze the makeup of the bombs used in the attack, she can do a forensic comparison and rule out that her bombs were the ones used in the blast. I only purchase from Jaina, because frankly I don't trust the rest of these yahoos with volatile explosives.

Rith would turn to the Guard beside him, asking politely for a cup of Coffee before continuing.

"My own search for the bomber is a slow one. I have began hunting down eye-witnesses in the bombing to try and get a make on this guy. The only one I've got thus far is Amy, the Drowess. I've ruled out Xaotisect and Anarchist activity. The Xaos would be boasting, and this kind of open display of uncalculated violence quite simply isn't the Anarch's style. Whoever did this bombing did it for the sole purpose of making himself known."

Rith would lean back in his chair, and relax a bit.

"In criminology, there are several types of killers. We have our typical Sociopaths, who kill because they have no natural inhibitions or empathy towards others. Then we have our Evolutionists, who believe they are exerting their will upon evolution by culling the weak and the stupid from the 'herd.' Then we have our "Angels of Death", who believe they are alleviating the suffering of others through mercy killings."

This guy, he's an Egoist. He wants his murders to be public, grand. This guy thrives off of being well known, causing fear. The only problem is...I've inadvertently taken the "credit" for his kill. And that means one thing:"

Rith sighs heavily, his eyes heavy.

"It means he's going to kill again. Soon. He won't stand for somebody else taking the 'credit'. And I have a feeling the next one is going to be bigger. More violent. More....memorable. This person is likely a narcissist of the utmost degree. He's self-obsessed, and will do anything to prove his superiority above others. No matter how violent, or who he has to hurt."

Rith allows this to sink into Mathias' mind a bit.

"Help me catch him Mathias. And I will turn myself in for the minor crimes that I have committed. But I will NOT be branded a child killer...."Rith Pleads to him.

[*RedMoney]

"There are a few problems I see here, nothing personal but it looks bad for you from any angle.

Firstly, if the bombs used in the attack are in fact not Jania's, great, but if they are, that will look even worse on you. Secondly, you saying you've never bought bombs from anyone besides Jania is a weak leg to stand on, considering how practically impossible it would be for anyone to prove that.

I recommend that you do one of two things in this situation. The first being submit to having a magical mental examination and willingly allow a truth spell be cast upon you so we can take you at your word. At that point we could allow you to deal with the petty charges and leave freely. This would be the fastest and most certain way to deal with the problem.

The other would be to let us hold you here until the real killer is exposed. This of course means two things, that your innocence might not actually be proven since there's no way to tell if you paid someone to stage a second bombing while in jail, and also that if you're locked up and not the killer, you'll have no way to help catch the guy and publicly clear your name.

I am willing to offer you a deal; submit to the truth spell, and after proving your innocence in the situation, swear a Geas to help us bring the bomber to justice. You do that, and all the current petty charges against you can be dropped, and any current felonies can be reduced in sentence. If you want to get your reputation back I highly recommend this route."

[*kitteninablender]

Rith ponders this a minute.

"Very well. I will submit to the Zone of Truth. However..."

He leans forward, and stares Mathias right in the eyes.

I will answer only questions pertaining to my non-involvement in the bombing. I will not allow you to garner information about the members of my organization while under the Zone of Truth. I will answer all questions pertaining to MY case. No others. Secondly..."

Rith motions to one of the Guards to fetch him a paper, and some charcoal to write with.

"The exact terms of the Geas will be clearly written out in paper, as to exactly what I am to do and the duties I am to perform while Geased. I will not have you turn me into a Harmonium Pawn to be your little spy. The details of my Geas will be written out, and I am free to edit the Geas as I choose before it is placed upon me so as to not be forced to betray my friends. If you are in agreement to this, we will proceed immediately so that I may clear my name."

[*RedMoney]

*smirks slightly* Fair enough, Rith, I'll have the paperwork drawn up. In the mean time, we will be holding you here as a person of interest. It shouldn't be more than a day. In the mean time if you want legal representation I can send for a public defender or you can contact your own lawyer.

*Mathias has Rith transferred to holding and provides legal council if wanted. He then heads to the Guvners to have the terms of the arrangement for the use of the Zone of Truth and the Geas drawn up.

The Zone of Truth paperwork states that the only question asked of Rith in the Zone of Truth will be "Are you in any way responsible for the bombing in question or subsequent death of the two children, and if so, how?" Should any other questions be asked, any information obtained from them will be inadmissible in court, and Rith will be offered a full pardon for any outstanding crimes. Should he be able to truthfully answer no, a public statement of his innocence will be made in SIGIS.

The Geas contract states the terms of the Geas as such : Rith will willingly submit to a Geas to help aid in the apprehension of the criminal responsible for the bombing and the death of the children. Rith must gather all information and evidence through legal means. At no point will Rith be force to testify or turn evidence against anyone except the person or persons directly responsible for the bombing. If evidence leads to an arrest within six months, Rith will have all outstanding petty charges committed before the time of the Geas dropped, and any outstanding felony charges outside of murder reduced to at least three quarters sentence. Any crimes Rith has committed that are unknown to the Harmonium are not subject to this agreement, nor can Rith confess to other past crimes and have them included in this agreement. If at some point Rith's investigation leads him to a situation in which he must implicate someone who he does not wish to, he may opt to not turn evidence against them, however, this will result in pressing all current charges to their maximum penalty. If at the end of six months no definite arrests have been made, Rith's evidence will be reviewed, and either an extension will be offered, or the charges pressed, depending on the quality of the evidence.

A secondary Geas will be placed upon Rith, compelling him against committing any crimes during the duration of the investigation.

Rith may agree to the terms of the Zone of Truth to clear his name and not to the Geas, at which point charges for outstanding crimes will be pressed. He -must- agree to the Zone of Truth if he wishes to proceed with the Geas deal.